One of the reasons I wanted to get a 3D printer was so that I could print busts of people I knew.  I’ve done a little experimenting, and so far so good.  Here are a few samples of the first two I worked with.

I had one of the guys at my office spin around in a chair to capture the mesh on the left.  A scan took less than two minutes and the results were pretty decent.  (I’m using a makeshift 3D scanner made from an ASUS Xtion Pro Live motion capture camera.)  I ran the meshes through NetFabb and a few other pieces of software for cutting and processing to wind up with that smooth looking model in the middle.  I then printed it with my Vision 3D printers, painted with some Bronze paint, and the results were pretty sweet.

Raw Mesh as Captured
Raw Mesh as Captured
Model After Smoothing & Repair
Model After Smoothing & Repair
Model Printed and Painted Bronze
Model Printed and Painted Bronze

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scanning children is an entirely different issue.  I tried scanning my daughter Zelda, but frequent movements made this process difficult.  (I really need a better and faster scanning solution.)  I grabbed my mesh (left), smoothed it through several pieces of software and got a printable model.  (The model lost some detail for sure during the process, and didn’t have much to begin with.)  I’ve printed this model several times, and after some printer adjustments, I noticed that one of them printed much taller than the others I’ve tried.  It was later that I found out that I added a piece of code that set the steps per mm of the extruder based on the wrong size threaded rod.  So, everything I printed was taller and funky at times.  I made quick work of the tall model though, with the mouse ears on the last photo.  Ha!

Raw Mesh as Captured
Raw Mesh as Captured
Model After Smoothing & Repair
Model After Smoothing & Repair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mistake Model (left), Model Painted Silver (right)
Mistake Model (left), Model Painted Silver (right)
Covering a Mistake
Covering a Mistake

By Arthur

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